


forget me not

by glorybringer



Category: Ensemble Stars! (Video Game)
Genre: M/M, Time Loop, Very lightly though, alternative universe, but theres a bit scene so, im sorry, its not really reikoga i guess, ive never written rei in my life before, mention of suicide, some other characters are mentioned, tagging just in case
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-27
Updated: 2017-03-27
Packaged: 2018-10-11 18:53:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,118
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10471731
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/glorybringer/pseuds/glorybringer
Summary: Everything looks the same.And this is the problem: everything is the same, once again.





	

**Author's Note:**

> okay so... the app is broken and fandom went wild. time loop au was everywhere on my tl yesterday and i couldnt stop myself,  
> so have this little thing that doesnt even make sense probably but its okay it was nice writing it  
> as always, thank you amanda for proofreading this!!

**__**

**_Caution: rebooting will erase everything in memory._ **

****  


********  
“Hey, ya shitty vampire!” ** ******  


  
Here it goes again. Rei, lying in his coffin, lets his lips curl into a smile. It doesn’t reach his eyes and it doesn’t reach his heart for sure; but it’s there, like a decoration. It’s there, bitterly, a joke. A reminder he failed once again, if there ever was a way to win against fate to begin with.   
His tongue clicks in his mouth, making a defeated sound.   
  
“Ah, puppy, you’re always so loud so early in the morning.” he replies. He’s so used to this kind of conversation and he knows what is going to happen: Koga is going to kick his coffin - thump! -, Rei will shake his head and while the younger boy is busy yelling some colorful words he will sit up and with the sweetest of smiles he will say “Did you miss me so much?” and Koga, frustrated as ever, will spit out a “Hell damn no! And it’s not even morning you bastard!”    
  
Everything looks the same.  
And this is the problem: everything is the same, once again. Again, and again, and again.  
It doesn’t matter how much he tries to escape the chain of time that some cruel mastermind has tied around him, he will always find himself to the beginning.

Once again. 

It takes some time - like every other time, approximately nine minutes and twenty-four seconds of yelling - but eventually Koga leaves the room, leaving behind him the trace of the ghost of his previous self.

When Koga shuts the door with a slam Rei sighs, a bit too loudly, falling back in his coffin with absolutely no grace. If he could hide there forever and avoid everything.    
Alone with his thoughts he tries to recollect pieces of memories of what he’s left behind, friendships he’s going to slowly rebuild, and relationships that are now like dust, slipping through his fingers. 

Once again.  
Again, again and again, and again.  
He has lost track of how many times he’s done this. It’s tiring to remember how many times he’s been forced to lose his friends and loved ones.

He doesn’t really lose them, to be fair. When he opens his eyes, they’re still there, but they’re not the same people anymore. It’s like the wind has swept away all of their memories. 

Except for him.  
He’s forced to remember every time.  
If only he could forget with everyone else maybe life would be easier.

**[ M e m o r y: E m p t y. ]**

The first time it happened it was, without a doubt, the weirdest experience of his life. 

He had still fixed in his mind the graduation ceremony, the smiles and the tears of his friends, the promises, the way the twins held onto him like he saved them, like he did something good in his life. 

He remembered it so clearly, it was so real.    
So it was a shock for him when he woke up the day after and he found out everything was gone.  


It was weird, so weird, he thought everyone just decided to pull some kind of strange prank on him. Or maybe his mind was playing with his emotions.  
Maybe he was just going crazy, after all.

But it was no joke. Just a cruel fate he couldn’t escape, no matter what.

****

**. .  … . ….. .. . ___**  
**E r r o r.**

****

Rei tries to convince himself that, at this point in his long life, he has learned to let go. He tries to convince himself that, after all this time, it doesn’t hurt _that much_.

It’s still painful to see his friends clueless, it’s still painful being unable to explain what’s going on, it’s painful hiding the truth from them. But he tries to convince himself that he can deal with it.

_That’s a lie._

When he’s alone, when the dark surrounds him, when he stares at the ceiling, he wonders where he went wrong. Why did his life take this turn? Why he’s the only one, overall?  
It’s like he’s been thrown in this kind of world as an accident. Because if he has no power to stop the time from rewinding, then there’s no point for him to be here.

Sometimes something different happens. It’s like a sparkle, a flash of hope in the dark sea. It illuminates his life.  
Things that are not supposed to happen happen.  
Things that are not supposed to be said are said.  
His life is already written, but sometimes the characters like to play around with the script.  
Sometimes something different happens, and it’s dark and scary and suffocating.  
In some lives he has seen, Leo Tsukinaga didn’t come back. Knights never got back their King. Everyone mourned over a boy who faded away at such a young age.  
In some lives he has seen, the war won over everything and everyone. 

Sometimes he tries to act different as well. Sometimes he tries to go out of line. He feels the adrenaline running through his body, protagonist of a tale only he himself knows.  
Sometimes the script changes, lightly or heavily, but it does.  
Sometimes, sometimes it doesn’t end well, and the curse of time is a blessing.  
But when it does end well, when everyone acquires the happiness they deserve and Rei knows - he knows, the only one, the only one - their fight has been for nothing… It’s just cruel. 

He feels tired most of the time.  
So, so very tired.

****

**— remember?  
**  
**— no.**

Rei remembers all the pain of seeing his friends’ dreams crashed over and over and over again.  
Rei remembers all the pain of seeing his own dreams being reduced into pieces.

But pain is not the only thing he remembers.

Rei remembers way too well the first time he kissed Koga. He could never forget the way how Koga’s fingers found their way in his hair. He could never forget the shade of bright pink on Koga’s face, how warm Koga’s cheeks felt under his lips and when he pressed his forehead against Koga’s, letting himself get lost in the immensity of Koga’s golden eyes. 

Rei remembers way too well the first time Ritsu forgave him. He could never forget the relief, the happiness, the calm he felt in his whole being by holding his little brother in his arm.    
He could never forget the small smile that curled Ritsu’s lips.    
  
He could never forget the happiness he felt.    
It was like living in a dream, and maybe it really was.   
He will never forget it. Even if everyone around him will forget.

He will never forget.   
Never    
Never   
Never.   
  
  


****

**[** **G A M E O V E R** **]** ****  
**►** **Try Again.** **  
** **▷** **Exit.**

 

**Author's Note:**

> find me on twitter @natsumugiis


End file.
